David Porteous

Northamptonshire Police are investigating a video circulating on social media that appears to show one of its officers throwing punches at a suspect as they attempt to restrain him.

The 10-second clip shows the individual with two uniformed police officers in a bedroom.

The policemen grab hold of the suspect and push him downwards. One of the officers then appears to throw several punches while his colleague shouts at him to put his hands behind his back. The individual being restrained is heard to respond: “Why are you punching me?”

The video has gone viral after being posted on Facebook.

The incident happened on the evening of Thursday August 13 but Northamptonshire Police would not confirm the location for “operational reasons”. No arrests were made.

In a statement released by Northamptonshire Police, Assistant Chief Constable Rachel Swann said: “We are aware of a short video circulating on social media allegedly showing Northamptonshire Police officers.

“We take such allegations extremely seriously and immediately referred the matter to our Professional Standards Department as soon as we became aware of it.

“An investigation is currently underway and, as such, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further while this takes place.”